Apparatus for handling material



March 22, 1932. F. D. MARTIN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING MATERIAL Filed Dec.26. 1929 o kk mm.. WM.. hm.

/n Vanor Fran/f D Waff/n @mmmwy atented Mar. 22, i932 UNITED 'STATESaesasei PATENT ori-icc FRANK D. MARTIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AS'SIGNORTO WESTERN V`,.'ILII'JEC'JR'IG GOM- PANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N.Y, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK APPARATUS FOR 'HANDLING MATERIALApplication med December 26, 1928. Serial No. 416,342.

l Objects of the invention are to provide a simple and eicient apparatusfor handling strand material and for supplying a continuous lengththereof.

One embodiment of the invention contemili plates the provision of anapparatus for supplying copper rod to a wire drawing machine, wherein anenclosure or housing is provided adjacent to the wire drawingcompartment and communicating therewith, in which the rod is placedduring the operation of the wire drawing machine. Several coils of therod are interwelded and placed in stacks upon two vertical posts mountedon the upper surface of a wheeled platform. One end of the rod on onepost is welded to an end of the rod on the other post with a suitableamount of slack therebetween, and one free end of the coil is thenstrung in the usual manner with the wire drawing dies. The loadedplatform is carried by a crane to the vicinity of the housing, which isthen opened and the platform wheeled into place within the housing. Thefree end of the rod having the dies thereon is passed over a rotatabledrum suspended from the roof of the housing, and then fed into the wiredrawing compartment wherein it is strung in the usual manner. Theinterconnecting portion of the rod between the two posts is looped overanother similar drum so that upon exhaustion of the rod upon the iirstpost, the rod on the second post is ready to be drawn without stoppingthe operation of the wire drawing machine. On approaching the end of thesupply, another loaded platform may be carried by the crane to thevicinity of the Vsupply housing and the rod thereon welded to theremaining supply,

y after which the empty platform can be removed and the loaded platformsubstituted so that the operation of the wire drawing machine may becontinued without re-stringing.

lt is believed that the invention will be clearly understood from thefollowing detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof,reference rbeing had to the accompanying-drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is anelevational view, partly in section, of a wire drawin machine havingassociated therewith a ro supplying apparatus embodying the invention;

2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 3 is a fragmentary planview, partly in section on line Y3--3 of Fig. 1.

Referring nowto the drawings'wherein like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, it will be observedthat a wire drawing machine is shown somewhat schematically in Fig. 1and com rises a wire drawing compartment 10 an a takefup compartment 11,both mounted upon a common supporting base 12 embedded in a foundationor ioor 13. A pair of stepped wire drawing capstans 15-15 andcooperating idler sheaves 16-16 are mounted within the wire drawingcompartment 11 with suitable brackets 17--17 interposed therebetween forsupporting the reducing dies in the usual manner. An opening 18 isprovided in the front side of the wire drawing compartment forfacilitating the threadingof the rod and the reducing dies beforestarting the operation of the machine.

A suitable door (not shown) is provided for closing the opening 18during the operation of the wire drawing mechanism.

In accordance with a feature of the present invention, a supplycompartment or housing 20 is provided adjacent to the wire drawingcompartment 10 for enclosing a supply of the rod to be drawn.V Thesupply compartment 2O consists of oppositely disposed side walls 21-21,a roof 22..,and a rear wall 23 which are rigidly braced and securedtogether by means of angle beams as shown in drawings. On the front sideof the compartment 2O there is provided a door 25. preferably of arollable type, having a handle. 26 whereby it mav be manually raised orlowered. When raised, the door 25 automatically rolls around a drum 27mounted near the roof of the compartment (Fig. 2).

A pair of flanged drums 30 and 31 are rotatably supported in U-shapedbrackets 324-32 depending from the roof of the comformed'with anupwardly extending portion 33 (Fig. 2) for attachment to an angle iron.framework 34 (Fig. 3) secured to the under side of the roof.

The rod to be drawn is placed in coil form upon a pair of vertical posts35 and 36 mounted upon a rollable support or wheeled platform 37. Ifseveral coils are placed on a post the inner end of each coil is weldedto the outer end of the adjacent coil on that post. Guard Iianges 3838are provided at the upper ends of the posts 35 and 36 for preventingtanghng or snarling of the rod as it is withdrawn from the posts. An ee-bolt or hook 39 is attached t-o each corner o the platform 37 by meansof which the platform may be lifted by a suitable crane (not shown) andcarried to and from the vicinity of the sup pl compartment 20.

After placing a coil o rod upon each of the posts 35 and 36, the innerend of the rod on the post 35 is welded to the outer end of the rod onthe post 36. The outer end of the rod on the post 35 is then strung withthe reducing dies in the usual manner, after which the plat-v form iscarried by a crane to the vicinity of the sup ly compartment 20. Theplatform is then wheeled into position within the compartment 20, asshown in the drawings. `The portion of the rod interconnecting the coilson the two posts is now threaded over the take-olf drum 31 and the outeror free end of the rod havin the dies strung thereon is threaded over te take-olf drum 30 and then through an opening (not shown) in the sidewall of the compartment 20 and into the wire drawing compartment 10,wherein it is threaded in the usual manner around the capstans 15 andthe associated idler sheaves 16, the reducing dies being located intheir supporting brackets 17. passed from the wire drawing compartment10 into the take-up compartment 11, wherein it is threaded under anidler sheave 42, over a similar sheave 43, through a distributor 44, andthen around a take-up reel 45. The doors of the su ply and wire drawingcompartments, an also a door 47 on the front side of the take-upcompartment are now closed and the apparatus is ready for operation. i

Upon approaching the end of the supply of rod on the second post 36,another loaded p platform is carried by a crane to the vicinity -of thesupply compartment 20, the Wire drawing operat1on is temporarilystopped, the door 25 of thc supply compartment is opened and the end ofthe remaining rod is welded to an end of the rod on the loaded platform,after which the empty platform is wheeled out of the compartment throughan opening 48 in the rear Wall thereof and the loaded platform iswheeled into the compartment. Thus, since the rcstringing of the die andthe rethreading ofthe rod through the wire draw- 'Ihe end of the rod isthenl ing mechanism is eliminated, the wire drawing operation mayquickly be resumed.

It is believed that the advantages of the invention will be clearlyapparent from the above description. By enclosing the rod supply withinthe compartment as described above, the operator is adequately protectedagainst any possible injury which may be due to tangling, snarling orbreaking of the rod as it is drawn from the supply. Also, by supporting.the supply upon a wheeled .platform adapted to be hoisted andtransported mechanically, the rod may be handled conveniently and inlarge quantities with a minimum amount of manual labor.

Although the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated anddescribed is particularl ap licable to wire drawing apparatus, it shoulbe understood that the invention is capable of other applications withinthe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

. 1. In an apparatus for handlin strand material, a support, a pluralityo upright members extending from the support, a supply of strandmaterial in coil form mounted upon each of the upright members, thestrand supplies being interconnected so as to permit an uninterruptedfeed of the strand from the supplies seriatim, and a rotatable drumpositioned above each of the supplies for facilitating the withdrawal of the strand from the associated supply.

2. In an apparatus for handling strand material, a rollable support, aplurality of strand supplies mounted upon the support, the inner end ofone of the supplies being connected to the outer end of another of thesupplies, an enclosure for accommodating the support with the suppliesthereon, and rotatable means individual to each of the supplies andmounted within the enclosure for facilitating the withdrawal of thestrand material from the respective supplies, said supplies androtatable means being arranged so as to permit an uninterrupted feed ofmaterial from the supplies seriatim.

3. In an apparatus for supplying strand material, a wheeled platform, aplurality of vertical posts attached to the platform, a supply of strandmaterial in coil form mounted upon each post, a housing for enclosingthe supplies, and rotatable means individual to each of the supplies andmounted within the housing for facilitating the withdrawal of tlliestrand material from the respective supp ies.

4. In an apparatus for supplying strand material, a wheeled platform,means mounted upon the platform for holding a plurality of strandsupplies in coil form with one end of a strand of one of the suppliesconnected to one end of a strand of another supply, a housing forenclosing the wheeledf latfgll with the supplies mounted thereon, t ehousing having y FRANK D. MARTIN.

